Good News About Having a Baby After 35

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After the "chart heard round the world" caused quite the office-wide crisis about our fertility last week, we're happy to bring you some more positive news about having a baby in your 30s and 40s.

By studying the results of second-trimester ultrasounds for over 76,000 women, a team from Washington University in St. Louis found that women age 35 or older "were 40 percent less likely than younger mothers to have a child with one or more of the birth defects known as major congenital malformations." While the rate of heart defects remained the same in both groups, investigators found lower rates of brain, kidney, and abdominal wall defects in the group of women over the age of 35.

One doctor who heard the findings remarked that they "provide good news for women who are considered of 'advanced maternal age' who are pregnant." So, one less thing to stress about if you're trying to get pregnant or are currently pregnant and over 35.